In a troubling vindication for the cynics, it seems government officials in Washington are celebrating the recent announcement of a terror threat to US interests around the world as a happy distraction from the NSA spying scandal.

The United States intercepted electronic communications this week among senior operatives of Al Qaeda, in which the terrorists discussed attacks against American interests in the Middle East and North Africa, American officials said Friday…

Some analysts and Congressional officials suggested Friday that emphasizing a terrorist threat now was a good way to divert attention from the uproar over the N.S.A.’s data-collection programs, and that if it showed the intercepts had uncovered a possible plot, even better.

Yes. You read that correctly.

The government’s response to intercepting some communications they believe may be threatening is to hit the panic button and shut down embassies across the Middle East – an action some are cheering in hopes of distracting the public from government abuses. In other words, the true victory is not that it’s over for Al Qaeda, but rather it’s over for the public.